Is the Travel Startup Support Ecosystem Producing Innovation or ROI?

Phocuswright has tracked
the launch of more than 80 travel-focused accelerators, incubators, early-stage
investors and entrepreneur support programs in the last 5-7 years, not to
mention dozens of pitch competitions, hackathons and conferences, including our own. Each promises to connect travel
startups with a combination of industry expertise, resources, capital and
exposure, and contributes to what is now a robust travel startup support
ecosystem. These programs and entities have sprung from intermediaries,
suppliers, destinations, investors and independent groups.

Are these programs and entities producing innovation,
supporting it, or harvesting it? Are they seeing ROI on their time and money
spent, and what constitutes ROI for them? What are the tangible benefits and
trade-offs for travel startups that choose to work with them? This article
attempts to answer these questions and more.

Fourteen people were interviewed for this
article, including incubator and accelerator managers, early-stage investors,
and entrepreneurs who have been through one or more of the programs.

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